NASA is preparing to launch Artemis-1. This is the mission that initiates the Space Agency's plans to return to themoon.
The first test will be without a crew, just around the Moon. But it will one day be a major test not only of a human-carrying space launch system, but of the decades-long plan NASA has drafted to return to our closest neighbors.
It's the result of months of preparation, years of design, and decades of work.
And it all kicks off on Monday, August 29th, when his first launch window opens. The first launch window will open at 8:33am local Eastern time, or 1:33pm in the UK.
NASA takes 120 minutes to launch a rocket and send it into space. If you miss that window, you'll have to delay your launch.
But if you miss that window, there will be another set on September 2nd and September 5th.
NASA may use the first slot. Space agencies have already said that rockets are more tolerant of risk than they are with crews on board . So bad weather is the only thing likely to delay the launch.
But nothing in space is truly predictable, including weather and other things. For example, in January, SpaceX was forced to delay its launch just 33 seconds before its scheduled launch because a cruise ship got too close to the launch pad.
Once the rocket leaves, it will spend 42 days in space, including time in lunar orbit. It then drifts back to Earth and splashes into the ocean.
All that process tests how the Space Launch System can launch into space. Orion His capsule, which will serve as a residence for future astronauts, will also be tested during unmanned flight.
